U.S. Stocks Fall, Dow Average Nears Bear Market as Banks Drop

June 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks slumped this week, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to the brink of a bear market, on mounting concern that writedowns and record oil prices will keep eroding profit and economic growth.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. led financial stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to the fourth week of declines, the longest streak since 2005. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended investors sell bank shares because credit losses will linger into 2009. United Parcel Service Inc. fell the most since July 2006 after saying profit will miss its prior forecast because fuel costs and an ``anemic'' economy reduced demand for air shipments.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 3 percent to 1,278.38, a three-month low. The Dow average retreated 4.2 percent to 11,346.51 and needs to fall another 0.1 percent to complete a bear-market decline of 20 percent from its October record. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 3.8 percent to 2,315.63.

Source: Bloomberg

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